Debates of April 29th, 2026

Finance

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals can dress this up however they like, but there is a glaring omission in the fiscal update, which is urgency. They have no urgency in resolving the U.S. tariff dispute, which is costing thousands of Canadian manufacturing jobs. What is worse, according to the Financial Times, “Canada’s leading industry groups say [the Prime Minister’s] effort to cut red tape is floundering, costing the country billions more in trade losses than...Donald Trump’s tariffs.” Liberals have no urgency to resolve that issue either, despite it being 100% in their control.

Rather than massive deficits, why do they not cut red tape so our workers and industries can survive?

[Rebecca Chartrand, Liberal, Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency]

Mr. Speaker, we are investing so Manitobans can step into good jobs. What is she not seeing here? We are strengthening Manitoba's aerospace sector. We are advancing the economic wealth fund. We are investing $6 billion in the trades so young people can get jobs. The member opposite continues to downplay this work when these measures are directly supporting Manitobans.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians were promised change after a decade of a costly Liberal government under Justin Trudeau. Yesterday, they did not get change; they got more of the same. The Liberals are asking every Canadian household to shoulder roughly $3,400 of new debt from a Prime Minister who said he would be different. This costly credit card budget delivers more debt, more costs and more taxes, and it is doubling the deficit while life gets more expensive.

Which promise was false, the promise of change, or the claim that doubling the deficit would somehow make Canadians better off?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, people in Conservative and B.C. ridings are telling me this week that our new government is delivering the things they need. We are bringing major projects, such as LNG train 2 and Red Chris mine, which are going to invest in our natural resources and build B.C.'s economy. We are delivering the team Canada strong program, which is going to recruit, train and hire over 80,000 new skilled workers. This means jobs for British Columbians. This is good news.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the only thing the government delivers is more recycled talking points. Even The Globe and Mail says that, in this upside-down Liberal world, a spending increase of $26.8 billion is not a spending cut. For every $100 in new revenue, the government spends 97% of it.

Will the government admit this costly credit card budget proves nothing has changed, or are Canadians now supposed to believe that doubling the deficit is fiscal responsibility?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I had a conversation with the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade this week, and we were talking about the need for skilled workers in British Columbia. In yesterday's spring economic update, we announced that we are investing in the recruiting, training and hiring of more than 80,000 workers in the skilled trades. We are going to grow the Canadian economy. We are going to invest in those projects. We are doing what B.C. needs.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, those apprentices desperately need projects to go forward that they can work on.

Canada faces an unemployment crisis, most severe among youth, yet this Liberal costly credit card budget plans further increases to EI premiums. Increasing the tax on jobs now would make it harder for businesses to create jobs and would make the jobs crisis even worse. Why are the Liberals paying for their costly credit card budget with further tax increases on jobs?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives read only half the newspaper, obviously. If they had read the other half, they would have seen the CEO of Shell say that it has never been as attractive a time to invest in the energy sector of this country. They would have said that they are excited about the development of LNG in this country and that they are excited about the jobs that are going to be created. They should read the rest of the paper.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am not at all surprised to hear that the minister spends a lot of time talking to CEOs. However, on page 122 of the Liberals' fiscal update, it is clear that they would increase the tax on jobs, at a time when we already have a massive youth unemployment crisis. This credit card budget proposes to squeeze small businesses and workers even more, at the same time as these Liberals are voting against allowing student grants to go to those at vocational institutions. They are attacking young people and attacking jobs. When will it end?

[Tim Hodgson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, maybe instead of reading the paper, the member should go online and see that we actually cut CPP deductions from paycheques. We are making it cheaper and more affordable for people to work, and we are adding 100,000 new Red Seal jobs. Read the paper. Read all the paper.

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Leduc—Wetaskiwin, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in 2015, Canada had a balanced budget and the richest middle class in the world. Coming out of a global economic meltdown, Canada's federal debt stood at $616 billion. Yesterday, we found out that after a decade of Liberal economic experiments funded on the national credit card, our debt this fiscal year will hit $1.4 trillion. The Liberals are trading away Canadians' future prosperity to fund this tiresome daily Liberal QP routine of riffing off ever-increasing lists of things they are charging to the national credit card. Is there someone over there with the courage to stand up and say, “enough is enough”?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that Canada has one of the strongest positions fiscally in the G7. In addition to maintaining and growing that position, we are also delivering for Canadians: $6 billion for investing in the skilled trades; more than $700 million for athletics in this country, from playground to podium; building Canada's homes by providing low-cost financing; and ensuring that there is a groceries and essentials benefit. We ask the Conservatives rationally to get on board.

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Leduc—Wetaskiwin, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in a mythical Liberal world, budgets balance themselves. In the current Prime Minister's theoretical world, the national credit card has no limit and the bill never comes due, but we live in the real world, where the Liberal government's addiction to borrowing has real consequences. This Prime Minister is now spending more on interest than on the Canada health transfer. According to his own economic update, and this is quite astonishing, in 2030, the entire deficit would go to paying interest on debt that the Liberals have added since being elected. In this new world, Liberal debt becomes self-generating. When will this experiment end?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. At the same time, in direct response to my colleague's question, we have reduced the deficit by $11 billion, as announced yesterday.

One thing the Conservatives have failed to do is to vote for Canadians, vote for dental care, vote for pharmacare, vote for the groceries and essentials benefit, vote for housing and vote for supporting school food lunch programs on a permanent basis. I ask them to get—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Mr. Speaker, no matter how much lipstick they put on this budget, a pig is still a pig. Liberals' costly credit—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Something is unparliamentary if it creates disorder. I think that kind of language has a tendency to create disorder. Perhaps the member could use other language.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' costly credit card budget is more of the same: more debt, more spending, more taxes and higher inflation. The Prime Minister has doubled previous annual deficits. He had still added $54 billion in new spending, costing Canadians now $59 billion in debt interest charges to cover it. His $25-billion sovereign debt fund is just another deception. When will the Prime Minister set aside his illusions and bring his deficit under control so Canadians can afford to live?

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue and to the Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, I know it is a lot to ask, but the Conservatives could finally give up their infatuation with our former prime minister and just face reality for once. Canada is strong and resilient, and only getting more so under this government's leadership. The evidence is in, in the spring economic update: $11 billion less in deficit, and a fiscal track with a declining deficit-to-GDP. Operating expenses are being managed responsibly. Canada has triple the job creation and double the foreign direct investment per capita of U.S. counterparts. We have the most competitive tax rate in the G7 and the strongest fiscal position.

The Economy

[Abdelhaq Sari, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, over the past year, Canadians have had to adapt to a rapidly changing world, one that is unpredictable, more complex, more unstable and, for many, more expensive.

Last fall, on this side of the House, we responded to these changes with a solid budget, budget 2025. It is a plan to build a stronger and more resilient economy, leading to lower costs for Canadians.

Yesterday's economic update is the next step. It is the next step in really continuing the work. I have a question for the Minister of Government Transformation.

Could he explain—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. Minister of Government Transformation.

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Bourassa for the question.

Yesterday, the Minister of Finance presented a plan for a strong Canada, a more prosperous Canada where the prosperity is shared by all. Our plan includes the Canada groceries and essentials benefit, which will help 12 million Canadians, who will receive their first payment on June 5. It includes historic investments in sport and in workforce training. It includes major projects that will unlock tens of billions of dollars, more than $125 billion in investments that will support 60,000 jobs across the country. In short, this is the plan of a smart, caring government. It is a prudent plan, a confident plan and a responsible plan.

Finance

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands—Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Prime Minister's costly budget is going to add another $37 billion in new debt this year, continuing his Liberal predecessor's tradition of borrowing and spending. What is worse is that interest alone on the national debt will be an additional $59 billion this year, which is $3,400 for every Canadian, who is already struggling with the rising prices of gas, groceries and housing.

The Prime Minister has the opportunity to show that he is not just another Liberal. Will he instead break from type and offer relief and affordability for Canadians?

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, while the former prime minister lives rent-free in Conservatives' heads, the current Prime Minister is focused on an economy for all Canadians. That is why in yesterday's spring economic update, we announced—